Pin seeker: Brodhead/Juda's Maurer tops D2 wrestling rankings

Logan Maurer let out a deep sigh at the mere mention of the 2013 WIAA state wrestling tournament.

The Brodhead/Juda junior would like to forget it ever happened, but he also uses the short trip to Madison as motivation.

Under the weather leading up to the big event, Maurer went 0-2 at the Kohl Center.

“I was sick the whole week going in,” he said Saturday. “I was clogged up and taking decongestants. By the time state came, I thought I was good, but once I started wrestling and getting active, I was dehydrated and worn out by the second period.

“I hope it goes a lot better this year.”

If Maurer’s performance up to this point is any indication, he’s headed in the right direction.

He’s the No. 1 Division 2 wrestler in the state at 285 pounds, and he’s now 44-1 after making quick work of his two opponents at Saturday’s Division 2 regional meet at Clinton.

A successful trip to sectionals next weekend will send him back to Madison.

“It’s kind of been a weak year—a strong one for me, but it’s been different than I thought,” Maurer said. “I would have thought I would have had more than just the one tough match this year.”

Maurer’s only loss came to Random Lake senior Reed Anklam, the top-ranked Division 3 wrestler in the state.

The rest of the year has been a pin-fest. Maurer flattened his two opponents Saturday in a combined 1 minute 22 seconds to break his old school record with 31 pins this season.

“Me and my buddy Brady (Colden, who won the regional at 160 pounds) have this thing where we see who can get more pins or more wins,” Maurer said. “It’s a friendly competition.

“I’m going out there and I want to get it done with, but sometimes I like to practice my stuff and do things I wouldn’t normally do, in case I ever need to do them.”

Much of the time, it’s odd to see one of his matches last more than a minute.

Knowing that the toughest competition is still ahead of Maurer, his coaches have challenged him in training—both inside the wrestling room and on the cardio side of things.

“He’s a good kid. The bulk of our team is juniors, and my son is a junior, so I’ve seen these kids grow up through the youth program,” Cardinals coach Tim Colden said. “He’s had another outstanding year, and I think he’s pretty hungry after last year.

“We’ve been pushing him in practice, running harder, just to make sure he’s got the cardio part of it when he needs to go six minutes.”

Aside from that, Maurer doesn’t seem to be feeling any pressure heading into the final portion of the season.

“It kind of actually helps me out that I got my first loss and I’m going into state without the pressure of trying to go undefeated,” he said. “And knowing that most of the competition that I knew I’d have last year at state is gone, it really makes me feel confident.”